Of Smiling And Frowning
by Miss Meira
Summary: This is the story of how Ace got his famous orange hat. "Can you make a hat?" Oneshot. Brotherly AceLu.


**DISCLAIMER: One Piece = Eiichiro Oda. Of Smiling and Frowning = mine (except the characters, setting, and … oh great, so this fic ain't mine too? Oh right, the plot is mine. Mwahahaha! Finally, something I own!) **

**A/N: I apologize for any mistakes down there. It's one am. I wanna post this ASAP before I get too busy. Don't get a stroke when Ace or Luffy suddenly becomes a "she." Kindly point out any funny mistakes in a review. Thanks and enjoy!**

OF SMILING AND FROWNING

_More than one year before Ace left Dawn Island_

"Get back here, you scums!" a man wearing a yukata* chased the running forms of two teenage boys. Unfortunately, he was not successful, as the distance between them widened. _Just how fast are these brats?! _To his surprise, the two stopped in their tracks and turned. He paused, as well, gasping for breath and thinking that maybe they regretted their actions.

He was the one with regrets, however. Regretting of ever thinking positively.

"Thank you for the food," they said, bowing down to him before taking off again.

The man did not bother this time. It was clear that it was his lost. _Damn it!_

The teens in question kept running, easily dodging the police. The boy wearing a straw hat kept laughing, heads turning as he and his companion passed, leaving his distinct "shishishi" laugh in his wake.

He stopped briefly when a certain merchandise shop caught his attention.

The freckled young man immediately halted, looking back at the straw hat wearing boy. "Oi, what are you doing? We're gonna get caught if you keep that up!"

The boy glanced back to his exasperated companion, then to the shop, and back to the freckled teen again. He grinned. "Let's go!"

They outran more security officers, not stopping until they had passed Gray Terminal and gotten into the forest.

The two rested against a giant tree, breathing heavily. Once they had fully recovered, they grinned at each other.

"That was a nice meal," Ace said simply.

"Shishishi. Happy birthday in advance, Ace!" Luffy exclaimed, which reminded them the reason why they had gone into town when they swore not to in the first place.

Ace grinned as he started walking, his brother following closely behind.

"So," Luffy said after a while. "Are you happy we went along with my suggestion, then?"

It took the fifteen-year-old a moment before he could say "yeah" with full conviction. He could still remember the day Luffy had asked him.

"_Ace, your birthday's coming up." Luffy raised his fists in front of his face and waited for an attack, maintaining eye contact with his brother._

_Ace continued to circle around Luffy like a predator would to its prey. "Mm. Not for another five months." His idiot brother nodded with a smile. "What about it?"_

_All of a sudden, Luffy dropped his defenses and grinned. "I just got an idea. Let's celebrate your birthday by eating in tow—ow!"_

_By the end of his second sentence, Ace had attacked him, sending him flying to a tree. After getting up and dusting his clothes, Luffy winced as he felt a small bump on his head. "Hey, no fair! I was talking!"_

_The older boy raised his eyebrows. "And we were in the middle of a fight." In his mind, Luffy should be thankful he had let him say as much as he'd had._

"_S'not a fight," the rubber teen mumbled. "This is training, Ace."_

"_Yeah, yeah." Ace walked over to their scoreboard and put one hundred beside his name and zero beside Luffy's. "So what were you saying before I kicked your ass?"_

_Luffy, who forgot about their mini argument and was pouting at the result of that day's matches, looked at his brother with furrowed brows before his face brightened. "Oh, right! I want us to go to town on your birthday. We can eat at restaurants like we used to. I miss ramen." He was practically drooling._

_The older put a hand under his chin as he considered. True, he was getting tired of eating crocodiles and fishes every day. He was thinking of everything save for the fact that they did not have any money. _

_However, the reason they avoided Town Center like a plague was because … of it being a plague. A plague that had killed his other brother. Ace's hands turned to fists._

_Just when he was about to speak, Luffy interrupted quietly. "And we should celebrate Sabo's birthday, too." Ace stared at him in shock. The boy had read his mind! "I think we should do something other than mourning this time." His voice became a whisper. "Sabo won't like it."_

_He simply stared at Luffy in astonishment. Here, his kid brother brought up the one conversation they both unconsciously shied away from for many years. Ace admitted that, even though Luffy had stopped crying every night and he from cringing every time Sabo was mentioned, their deceased brother was still a painful topic for them. Every time Sabo's birthday came around, they would go about their everyday activities, air tense between them and the mountain bandits. Ace would go on a walk on his own, and Luffy would eat less than usual. _

_Luffy was right. After almost six years, they were still mourning._

_Ace internally cursed at this revelation before sighing. As much as it hurt, it was time to really move on. "Why would we have to wait for my birthday? Let's do it next week. I heard there's a festival. We can sneak in better with that going on."_

_The younger boy's eyes gleamed happily. "Really? A festival?! Will there be food?"_

And that was how they found themselves running from yet another shop owner in Town Center. Oh, the memories.

Ace shook his head to clear his thoughts. "By the way, Luffy, why did you stop at that stall? Did you see something interesting?"

The younger brother, who was also lost in his own thoughts, gave a "huh" before saying, "Oh, that. I just … saw … something … Yeah, you could say that," he said feebly, still distracted.

Okay, something was clearly up. The freckled teen narrowed his eyes.

"That's right!" Luffy suddenly exclaimed. "Ne, Ace, will you go home before me? I wanna visit Makino!"

Ace raised an eyebrow. He was slightly suspicious of the sudden turn of the conversation. "Now? It's almost sunset, Lu. I'm sure she's busy."

Luffy then pulled the face that would get his brother—or anyone—to do his bidding. He pouted and stared at Ace with pleading, shiny eyes. Ace uttered another curse in his mind. He was too late; he had fallen into his brother's trap before he could turn away.

"Fine. Be home before eight, okay?"

Luffy smiled impossibly wide.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The sky was a bright orange when the teen with a straw hat approached the Partys Bar in Foosha Village. He all but ran the remaining steps toward his destination.

Swinging the doors and letting himself into the partially full bar, Luffy met Makino's surprised glance. The teen smiled happily. "Yo, Makino!"

"Luffy! Welcome! Why are you here? Would you like to eat? Is something wrong?" came Makino's flustered reply. She could not help it. He'd _never_ visited the village after he had left years ago. Of course, she understood that it was under Garp-san's orders, and now thought that there must be a problem for him to disobey his grandfather like that.

"Shishishi. I'm here for a favor!" Luffy sat on the stool in front of the green-haired woman. Makino noted how the teen was sitting at the same spot he had used to when he was younger. "Ah, but I don't mind some food!"

She smiled fondly. "Wait a minute, okay? I just got the stake out of the pan." Luffy whooped, chanting "meshi, meshi**."

When the twelve-year-old was happily gnawing his meat, Makino asked, "What favor?"

"Mm! Mk'no, c'n ya mek a 'at?"

"Swallow before you speak, Luffy," Makino admonished.

Once he did as he was told, he said, clearer this time, "Can you make a hat?"

Her eyes rested on Luffy's straw hat but since she was used to Luffy's whims, she didn't ask the purpose behind. "I can. What kind do you have in mind?"

He instantly brightened up. "You'll really help me? Thanks, Makino! Shishishi." Makino merely smiled, waiting for him to continue. "I wanna give Ace a hat for his birthday! I saw this black hat with beads and faces on it in town. I think it's perfect for Ace! Except the color, though. I just realized that me and Sabo had one but not Ace. I want him to have a hat so us brothers all have it!"

At the end of Luffy's speech, Makino's feelings were all over the place. She was amused that Luffy had thought ahead of Ace's birthday that year, especially when it wouldn't be for another five months. Then she felt both waves of sorrow and relief when Luffy mentioned Sabo. She was aware of the boys' pain when they had lost their brother, but after seeing Luffy talk about Sabo without discomfort, she was happy that they were moving on. No child deserved the burden that Ace and Luffy had, in her opinion.

She held back her tears and said, "I think I know what you're talking about." She remembered a customer with that kind of hat and scanned her bar, smiling when she saw the man she was searching for. "Look over there, Luffy. Is that the hat you were talking about?"

Luffy turned and jumped out of his chair in excitement. The man in the corner was sipping his sake quietly, wearing the exact hat that Luffy had just seen at the shop. "Yes, that's it!"

Makino laughed at the always enthusiastic and lovable kid. "Now that I know how it looks like, I can make it."

"Can I help? It's for Ace, after all!" he exclaimed enthusiastically.

Makino would love to say yes but, having been familiar with the jolly teen's lack of artistic skills, realized she would finish faster if she did the hat-making alone. "No, it's okay. You can help me get the materials, though."

"Awesome!" Luffy grinned, and Makino could feel her mood brighten even more. "So, where do I get the materials?"

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

The day of Ace's sixteenth birthday finally came.

And for the first time, Ace was feeling more than his usual indifference.

He did not care about birthdays. Well, his anyways. He didn't see the point of celebrating the day he was born, given his history. Ace was more than happy to celebrate his younger brother's birthday, though. That is why, when Makino and Woop Slap visited for the usual humble celebration, he would simply wave off their fervent greetings and act like he would any other day. The food was just a bonus.

However, today, Ace was more than curious. Ever since his visit at Makino's, Luffy had been keeping something from him. He had definitely noticed as the boy was a bad liar. _How the hell was he captured by that Porchemy bastard anyway? _When he had tried to go to Makino and ask the woman himself, his plans were always thwarted by Luffy. And when he had succeeded once, Makino only smiled innocently and said she had no idea what he was talking about.

_Way to go messing up my mind, right?_

Ace planned to bug Makino that day, adamant about getting the truth out of her one way or another. It was driving him nuts, knowing that his brother may or may not be planning something dangerous. His brother complex was going haywire; he wondered how he hadn't secretly followed Luffy everywhere he went.

When he woke up on the day of his birthday, Luffy greeted him with a big, excited smile. Nothing odd about that. "Happy birthday, Ace!"

He returned his brother's smile. His optimistic mood was infectious like that. Maybe that explained his inability to press him for answers? "Thanks, Luffy. So, are we going to raid another restaurant today?"

Luffy bobbed his head up and down energetically. "Yoshi***! Let's go!" he screamed and ran out of the room, pulling Ace's arm with him.

"Hey, wait a sec! I'm not even dressed!"

Three hours later, they were running from what looked like a cook. Again. Luffy's mouth was still full of the meal they just had.

"You brats! Get back here!"

Four hours later, the two brothers rested in the middle of the forest after their training. The scoreboard showed that Ace had been the winner once again in all one hundred rounds.

Ace and Luffy were lying on the grass, side by side, letting the gently breeze play with their hair (and in Luffy's case, his hat). They calmly stared at the blue and white expanse above them.

"I bet Makino and the mayor are already there," Luffy muttered.

Ace rolled until he was facing his brother. "Lu, answer me. What are you hiding?"

Instead of trying to play innocent by turning away and whistling again, Luffy turned with his big smile. "I'll show you when we get back home."

Now Ace was confused. "Show?"

"I'll race you to Dadan's!" Luffy took off faster than a bullet. Well, not really since Ace was able to beat him.

When they arrived, Makino had finished setting up Ace's birthday meal on the table. Ace nodded weakly at the birthday greetings from the bandits while Luffy ran off to Makino and spoke with her quietly. Ace raised a brow when they giggled.

"Oi, Ace, get your ass down here so we can start eating," Dadan said gruffly.

Ace grumbled but complied. He was there for the food, after all. Once everyone had settled down and sung for him—per Makino and Luffy's request—the civil war in Dadan's country started. Ace, Luffy, and the bandits, combated for pieces of meat, bread, and cheese. Makino was more than happy to watch with her drink than to partake in the excitement. She was used to it. The same could be said for Woop Slap who was shaking his head.

When things started to calm down and Luffy was satisfied, the straw hat wearing teen jumped up and rushed out of the room to who knows where. Ace, being the protective older brother he was, wanted to follow when he felt his body go weak. _Oh, shit_, was his last thought before his head plopped down on his mashed potato. A snore resounded afterwards.

Luffy emerged, grinning with a box in his hands. He stopped when he spotted his older brother in the middle of a narcolepsy attack. The twelve-year-old pouted before going back to his seat beside Ace.

"Why are you sleeping now, Ace, of all times?" Luffy continued to pout.

Makino couldn't help the giggles that erupted from her mouth. Here, Luffy was so excited to give his gift only to be hindered by Ace's narcolepsy. It was beyond amusing. And cute, in Makino's honest opinion.

She saw Luffy's face light up before he dashed away for the second time. When he got back, he had a black marker with him.

Makino forgot all about manners as she laughed louder than usual. Luffy had started doodling on his brother's face.

Ace didn't know how he woke up, but he had an idea. It was noisy, which was normal. It was always like that at Dadan's. But he heard feminine laughter, which was not normal because there was no way Dadan could laugh like that. Lastly, he became aware of something poking his face.

He glanced up to see his young brother smiling broadly, a marker in one hand. _Oh God, please no._

"Luffy! What did you do?!" He was up in an instant. Luffy, as expected of a boy with great instincts, leaped out of his reach in time and ran around the room, laughing. The bandits didn't bother stopping them. Instead, they moved out of the way.

"I made you pretty, Ace!" he shouted back.

Once Ace caught the back of Luffy's shirt, he tackled him to the ground. They wrestled like ants who met up from opposite directions for a minute. When Luffy tried to kick Ace away from him, he accidentally knocked his gift that was lying innocently on the floor and sent it flying.

He froze. "Ah, Ace's hat!"

Ace stopped, too. "My what?"

"It's your gift, Ace," Luffy explained. "Makino made it. That's the secret I've been keeping from you."

The freckled teen, who had more than just freckles on his face at the moment, stared at his brother before disentangling himself. "A gift for me?" he said, voice thick with emotion. He cleared his throat, embarrassed.

"Yeah. Open it! You'll never guess what it is!" Luffy was literally vibrating with excitement.

"It's a hat, right?"

Just like that, Luffy's face fell like when someone stepped on his favorite beetle. It was a heartbreaking sight. "How did you know?"

"You said it before, stupid." Ace ruffled his hair playfully. He walked over and picked up the box in blue wrapping paper. "Thanks for this, Luffy. Really. Thank you, as well, Makino." He turned to the green-haired woman with a smile.

"You're welcome, Ace," Makino said with a smile of her own.

"Open it!" Luffy said happily.

Ace tore the paper and lifted the cover. He pulled out what looked like an orange hat. It had red beads around the base along with two blue faces that were smiling and frowning. There was even a string attached with a skull emblem near the end. After surveying every corner of his hat, he glanced at Luffy, who was looking both worried and excited, and Makino, who was smiling still.

Then he broke into the biggest smile he could muster. "This is great! I love it!" That eased Luffy's mind and he laughed, putting the hat on.

"Wow! You look so cool, Ace!" Luffy complimented.

Ace merely grinned as he faced a mirror on the far side of the room and studied his reflection. He couldn't understand it, but he felt a sense of comfort.

o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o

Makino joined Luffy, the mayor, and the mountain bandits at a secluded far end of the island.

Ace was on a boat, getting ready to set sail.

"I'll be going now, Luffy!" the seventeen-year-old exclaimed, grinning up at his brother.

"Okay!"

Without losing his smile, Ace set sail, Luffy's gift still on his head. Makino knew he had almost never removed it.

And he would never, now that his little brother was going to be far from him.

**A/N: If you're too lazy to Google, here's the meaning of the words with asterisks:**

***yukata = Japanese garment, a casual summer kimono usually worn at outdoor summer events such as hanabi (fireworks) displays and bon-odori festivals.**

****meshi (obvious) = food**

*****yoshi (very obvious and pronounced without the "i") = okay**

**EDIT: Fixed some things I noticed when I reread. Btw, I didn't bother rewatching Ace's setting sail episode. I just wrote what I remember, so sorry for any mistakes. Luffy drawing on Ace's face with a marker is a shout out to the wonderful Blueh's Unexpected Emergencies. If you haven't read that yet, well, you must! Especially if you love the Whitebeard Pirates as much as I do!**

**I'd love reviews. They're part of the reason I spent hours writing this thing. (I know you're reading thiiiiss. Come on. A simple smiley face will do.) Some are my love for BROTHERLY AceLu. Take a good look at the capitalized word there. I'm not into yaoi. Well, I try not to … NO I DON'T SECRETELY SHIP MARCOXACE!**

**Gosh, I **_**am**_** sleepy. Thanks for keeping up with my ridiculous rants and kindly leave a review before you exit this page or press the back button. :)**


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